By Rebecca Hall 5/9/23
Above: Arsenal’s Amanda Illestedt talks to the media ahead of the match
Impetus contributor, Rebecca Hall, attended the Arsenal press conference and spoke to Linköping players ahead of the first match, to see how the teams were preparing.
On Wednesday Linköping host the first round of a mini-tournament which determines teams making it to the next round of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The impressive Swedish side Linköping play English heavy-weights Arsenal, while Paris FC take on Kryvbas. The respective winners and losers then go on to face each other in a final and third-place match.
The fifth of September marked the day that every Arsenal fan (and most football fans) have been waiting for, Beth Mead was named in the travelling squad headed to Sweden. This marked a significant step in her recovery after suffering an ACL injury in November against Manchester United. Eidevallagreed with the fan’s jubilation that it is “so nice when you welcome a player back because you know how hard they have fought both on and off the pitch to be able to get into this shape”. However, it may not come as a surprise to those familiar with ACL injuries, that Eidevall confirmed Mead will play no minutes in either of the games. The Arsenal boss explained, “She’s not there yet. This (game) would come a little bit too early for her, but she’s not far off”.
Eidevall touched on Arsenal’s long series of injuries, particularly ACL-related, stating “Beth is the first of our long-term injuries, returning. That of course is very nice. I think that it’s also a turning point where hopefully more of our players will come back. That is exactly the kind of momentum we want”.
One of the biggest concerns for Arsenal is fatigue and as a result, how match-ready the majority of the players are. Fifteen of Arsenal’s squad were selected for the tournament, and eight of those were involved in the final and third-place match. However, of those involved, Lotte Wubben-Moy played no minutes, although the journey and event of the World Cup still have an impact, alongside the lack of downtime. There were just two weeks between the final and the first Champions League game. In the Arsenal press conference, Jonas Eidevall spoke about the difficulty of the short turnaround and explained that “everyone was back in training last Monday, giving us a little over a week to prep”. Eidevall plans to manage the returning players “individually because they are not getting necessary time off”. In the past Arsenal have been credited for their player management, having given players such as Lia Walti and Vivianne Miedematime off for personal reasons during the season. However, the Arsenal boss concedes “We can’t give them all time off at the same time, so it needs to be managed individually”.
This short turnaround period also leads to difficulty in fully integrating the team, especially considering the new signings made in the summer window. Arsenal can now call on Bronze Ball winner of the World Cup, Sweden’s, Amanda Illestedt, World Cup winner Laia Codina, Benfica’s top goal scorer, Cloe Lacase, and Lionesses powerhouse, Alessia Russo. When asked if this was enough time, Eidevall joked that “One week is more than one day”, but simply said “It is what it is” and “we did our very best with every day available”.
Arsenal’s new signing Amanda Ilestedt said even with the short amount of time since the World Cup “it feels good to be with the team and get to know the players and staff, but it’s great to be here”.
As well as new signings, Jonas Eidevall also confirmed that Renee Slegers has joined Arsenal as an assistant coach for the season. Slegers was previously the manager of Rosengårdwhere she took over from Jonas Eidevall when he left for Arsenal. On the appointment Jonas Eidevall, commented that “we needed a person who knows football well but who also can help with the individual development, and I think she’s the perfect person to do that”.
Linköping have also made new signings in this transfer window including Philipines international, and former Australian international, Angela Beard, as well as MalinBrenn. These signings significantly strengthen the backline, although Beard has a strong ability to play in multiple areas. The Queenslander played an attacking fullback role last season for A-league side Western United. Beard insists that she is happy to play where the team needs her and that “as I get older I learn to adapt more”.
Linköping welcomed back Alva Selerud from a loan spell with Roma. The young star made her first start since returning, on Friday and she will likely retain her place for Wednesday’s fixture. The 23-year-old talked of how she is happy to be back on but learnt a lot in Roma.
Swedish international and bronze medal winner of this year’s World Cup, Stina Lennartson spoke of the teams and the city’s excitement for Champions League football, explaining they “have been waiting nearly one year now” and are “excited to play against one of the best teams in the world”. Alva Seleurdadded that “the arena is sold out, which is super fun”. Both players agreed that there will be a home advantage and they are looking forward to playing in front of their fans. The pair also joked as a particularly big gust of wind hit us that it was “our wind as well”. This joke stems from the high levels of wind the city experiences, but this is particularly true of the Bilborsen Arena, where there is a characteristic swooping motion of wind in the stadium, mainly on the side of the dugouts. While this may seem trivial, an understanding of the wind pattern in the ground could prove important, especially for aerial balls.
Anders Jacobson was recently placed in charge of the team after Andree Jeglertz left the role to become the new head coach of Denmark. The new boss has made a quick start having picked up points from his first two games as manager, including a 5-2 win over Brommapojkarna and a goalless draw against Hacken.
Arsenal go into this as favourites but Linköping go into this match with a good run of form, compared to Arsenal’s small preparation time, with no WSL action until October. However, in their last run in the Champions League, Arsenal found form and reached the latter stages which the side will be looking to build on. Both sides have world-class talent, and Arsenal are likely wary of getting caught cold in front of the sold-out crowd.
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